Auditors’ body urges more powers to PAC, banks’ audit by CAG

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) An auditors body on Monday sought independent powers of investigation for Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and demanded that banks, other financial institutions and PPP projects be brought under the purview of India’s official auditor.

“The Institute of Public Auditors of India (IPAI) has strongly demanded that the PAC be given enough powers to take up issues for investigation on its own.

“It also advocated to bring banks, other financial institutions and projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) within the scope of the Comptroller and Auditor Generals’s (CAG) audit,” the body of public finance specialists said.

“A report should also be placed in Parliament about recommendations of the PAC, which have not been accepted by the government, along with reasons thereof,” IPAI said in a statement, adding that a time limit should be set within which departments should submit their Action Taken Reports.

“Currently, banks, financial institutions and PPP projects are not under the purview of CAG, and in view of various anomalies witnessed recently in these important segments of economy, the CAG should be empowered to audit these sectors’ records to ensure transparency and accountability,” the statement added.

The IPAI also underlined the need for a new Audit Act, “which apart from prescribing a procedure for selection of the CAG, should also stipulate a time period within which CAG’s audit reports should be presented to Parliament and state legislatures”.

The IPAI said these recommendations emerged in a recently held seminar organised by the institute.